


When All is Lost (Then All is Found)

by doctornineandthreequarters



Series: Eddie Diaz Week [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Comforting Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Eddie Diaz Week, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, No beta we die like that guy checking on the damn because he's definitely dead right?, Smart Eddie Diaz, Soft Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Worried Evan "Buck" Buckley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29821665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctornineandthreequarters/pseuds/doctornineandthreequarters
Summary: “I love you.” He heard Buck suck in a breath, but Eddie felt a weight lift off his chest. “I love you, plain and simple. And when we’re out of here, I will show you how much, but right now we need to get out of here and I need your help.”---Eddie Diaz Week, Day 3: “We’re getting out of this.” + competence
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Eddie Diaz Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2188710
Comments: 22
Kudos: 253





	When All is Lost (Then All is Found)

“Eddie, it’s no use.” Eddie glanced back at Buck, who was panting a little. They had been helping to clear a building after an earthquake. The incident commander had said there was a chance there were still people trapped inside. So, Bobby had split the 118 up into teams and had sent them to go look.

The last comment from Bobby before they all went in was to be quick, since the chance of aftershocks was still high. And of course, right as Buck and Eddie got to the basement an aftershock hit. And it was a bad one. Eddie was able to just barely radio to Bobby before Buck tugged him out of the way, both trying to find a place to take cover from the debris.

When the dust had settled, Eddie quickly realized that the one exit they had was now blocked by debris. Eddie had suggested they try to chisel their way out with whatever supplies they had. Of course, that had been some time ago and they had barely made a dent and clearly, they were both exhausted. 

“Don’t say that,” Eddie said through gritted teeth, hitting the wall again. 

“The debris is too thick,” Buck said with a huff. “And we haven’t heard from anyone.”

“Concrete is probably affecting the radio waves,” Eddie said, turning to fully face Buck. He had breathed out a sigh of relief earlier when he had seen that neither of them had gotten hurt during the aftershock. “I think we need to try something else.”

“Like what?” Buck asked, frustration evident on his face. “We’re stuck down here and we don’t know if anyone is coming to get us.”

“Stop that,” Eddie said, crossing to Buck. “There are three people up there that care a whole lot about us. They’re not giving up and neither are we.”

“Eds.”

“ **We’re getting out of this** ,” Eddie said, certainty in his voice. “We’re going to get out of here and then we’re going to go home and watch movies with Christopher, okay?” Buck’s eyes softened a little.

“You called your house home,” Buck said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Like it’s our home.” Eddie reached for Buck’s hand. They were both wearing gloves, so he couldn’t really feel the soft skin of Buck’s hand in his. But he could imagine what it felt like. Buck just watched him, a sweet, but nervous look in his eyes.

“It is,” Eddie said, squeezing Buck’s hand. “At least, I want it to be.” He looked around at the dingy, barely still standing basement and side. “A dingy basement during an earthquake is not how I wanted to tell you this, but here we are.” He noticed Buck gulp and Eddie chuckled awkwardly. “I really like having you around. And Chris loves having you around. And I kind of wish you were around all the time.”

“Eds.”

“I love you.” He heard Buck suck in a breath, but Eddie felt a weight lift off his chest. “I love you, plain and simple. And when we’re out of here, I will show you how much, but right now we need to get out of here and I need your help.”

“You really love me?” Buck asked and Eddie nodded. “I love you too.” Eddie smiled, squeezing Buck’s hand. He wanted to kiss Buck, but during the middle of a disaster was not the place. He wanted their first kiss to be special. And as soon as they were out and safe, he would make sure of that.

“That’s...that’s really good.” Buck smiled, a blush crossing his cheeks. “And we’re going to talk about all of this and soon, I promise. But for right now…”

“Let’s get out of here,” Buck said, a renewed sense of purpose in his eyes. “Because now I’m having thoughts of kissing you in your kitchen and I’d really like to make it happen.”

“Why the kitchen?” Eddie asked. A mischievous smirk crossed Buck’s face and Eddie chuckled, feeling a blush spread across his face. “I look forward to that.” Buck nodded and then they started to look around. “Did the incident commander say anything about windows down here?”

“Not sure,” Buck said, his flashlight scanning across some of the room. “Why?”

“Could work for an exit,” Eddie said, scanning the other half of the room. He passed over something but then stopped, going back to it. “There!”

“A window?” Buck asked, following Eddie’s line of sight.

“Nope,” Eddie said, making his way over to it. He pushed some debris out of the way, Buck helping him. “A crawlspace. Older buildings in Los Angeles used to just have crawl spaces before they were converted into basements.”

“Where’d you learn that?” Buck asked, tilting to his head. 

“From you,” Eddie said with a chuckle. “I like your random facts. I like most things about you.” The last part was slightly muffled, but Buck heard him, based on the bright grin that crossed his face. “If we go through there, we might be able to find a way out, or at least let Bobby know where we are.”

“It’s a pretty good idea,” Buck said with a shrug.

“I have those sometimes.” Buck was about to retort when the building started to shake. Buck grabbed onto his arm, both of them looking upwards for any falling debris. However, the aftershock was brief and they both let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, change of plans. I’ll go just far enough into the crawl space to radio out. I’m worried if we go down there, we could be trapped in an even worse position.” Buck nodded. 

“I’ll light the crawl space so you can have more visibility.” Eddie nodded before stooping down. He sighed to himself before crawling into the small space. From his flashlight and Buck’s light behind him, he could see the space before him. He realized it was definitely a good idea that they didn’t use it as an exit, since it looked like an endless maze. He kept moving forward, extraordinarily grateful for his army training as he inched along. 

_ “ B uckely, Diaz, report.”  _ His radio crackled to life and Eddie let out a sigh of relief. 

“We’re here, Cap,” Eddie said, glancing back at Buck, who was about fifty feet away. “One of the aftershocks blocked our exit out of the basement. We’ve got limited radio contact down here as well.”

_ “ We figured. Hang tight and we’ll get you two out of there.” _

“Copy that.” Eddie let out a sigh before awkwardly moving around until he was facing Buck. “They’re on their way.”

“Good,” Buck said. “Now get out of there.”

“Worried about me, Buckley?” Eddie asked with a smirk as he inched his way towards Buck. He could see Buck ready for a wry response. But the comment died on his lips as they both felt the building start to shake again. Buck reached out and Eddie grabbed onto his arm. Buck hauled him forward until Eddie tumbled out of the crawl space and into Buck.

“Are you okay?” Buck asked, concern in his eyes. Eddie wanted to say something, but he was too focused on Buck’s hands on his arms and the way they were now pressed chest-to-chest. “Eddie?”

Instead of responding, Eddie closed any space remaining between them, sealing his lips over Buck’s. Buck’s grip tightened on his arms, kissing him back with fervor. Eddie cradled Buck’s face in his hands, deepening the kiss. Maybe this wasn’t how he wanted their first kiss to go, but when did things ever go the way they were planned. 

They pulled apart when they heard shouting from the debris they had originally tried to get through. 

“I thought,” Buck started a little breathlessly. 

“Couldn’t wait any longer,” Eddie said, letting go of Buck and stepping back a little. Buck was about to say something when they heard another shout from beyond the debris. “We’ll talk more later, I promise.”

“Well now I don’t really want to talk,” Buck pointed out and Eddie ducked his head, trying to hide the blush on his face. They moved towards the debris, calling to Bobby, who they could now hear more clearly. 

From there, it was a rush of breaking through the debris and following Bobby and Chimney out of the building. They were not-so-gently pushed over to the ambulance where Hen and Chimney fussed over them, wanting to make sure they were okay. Eddie didn’t mind, because as soon as he took his gloves off, Buck’s hand found his, their fingers interlacing.

And as their friends checked them over, they just shared a soft smile, knowing they now had plenty of time to finish what they had started.

**Author's Note:**

> [Scream with me on my Tumblr?](https://doctornineandthreequarters.tumblr.com)


End file.
